had to get this off my chest. having my usual trawl through ebay for a gem or two and this guy keeps popping up. Seems hes in the habit of buying Harley benton guitars , adding a few quid listing them as unbranded and and flogging them for more than the market worth. is it just me or is that a bit .....well ....off ! by the looks of the guitars he has to offer he has invested quite a bit of dosh into building up his warehouse. saddens me that there are people watching some of his stuff and there is the possibility of someone getting mugged off ! call me an old softie but i never have got why people do s**tty things like that

Yes, I too have noticed that this seems to keep cropping up. It's like all things like this. I don't think you can do much to stop it. Ebay won't care. They get their fee. After that it's simply "buyer beware". Buyers need to do their own market research.

its the fact that this "gent" goes to great lengths to leave out the HB logo in his pics , and if he does actually list a brand (which is rarely) he just puts HB. im off to take my blood pressure medicine now .lol

I get what you're saying but looking at the prices he's selling at
(£15 profit + P&P, less actual postage costs and seller fees for eBay and PayPal, I can't see why he's doing it. Or am I missing something here?

Always expect the worst. That way, you'll be pleasantly surprised 50% of the time.

I get what you're saying but looking at the prices he's selling at
(£15 profit + P&P, less actual postage costs and seller fees for eBay and PayPal, I can't see why he's doing it. Or am I missing something here?

gonna try and do something about this scumbag today. its ok if you know what you are looking at , and also if you know how to research what you are buying. this guy has put most of his stuff as unbranded, you cannot research an "unbranded product ! it pains me that xmas has just passed, and i wonder how many parents have spent hard earned with this guy for a first guitar for a present only to end up buying a substandard product at more than market rate. he needs to be stopped ! got my letter writing head on today.

Interests:Born 1962. Background in aero engineering. Ex all-weather motorcyclist of 25 years. Still very much an analogue man.

Posted 12 January 2017 - 08:13 AM

Buyer Beware

This is the bottom line with any transaction whether in real life or online.

The OP's story reminds me of when I discovered a rat in my camp at work a few years back. The lad had been taken on having been recommended by another youth who'd just completed his apprenticeship. We all liked him for his lively sense of humour and he seemed like a good worker. As we got to know him little things were disclosed that made more than a couple of people change their opinion.

After an all nighter at work we were having one of those informal 'round the table chats before the hand over to the day shift. We were all a bit "punch drunk" and for the most part it was a proper laugh. The conversation had reached the bragging and one-upmanship stage. After a few of the usual hairy stories of glory and bravado this lad told us how he was making money off of EBay on a regular basis by putting up misleading photos. Having got everyone's attention he told us that he'd put a sound system in his car and decided to sell the packaging.

He got his EBay account up on one of the company PCs and showed us. The box, illustrated with an image of the sound system that it used to contain, was photographed as if unopened and put up with the title of "Sound System Box". The brand and specifications were typed out as they appeared on the box itself and put in quotes. One or two of us queried the legitimacy of this. He didn't see anything wrong with what he did because he had correctly said that it was a sound system box. All he was doing was repeating what was on the box illustration because the photo wasn't very sharp! That some people were bidding on it as if they expected it to have something in it was not his problem, he burbled. What's wrong with taking money from people who don't read that the item is just a box?

According to him, it was a victimless crime because "People shouldn't be stupid innit." I distanced myself from him inwardly and decided never to lend him my tools again in case he'd flog them!

What was especially disturbing was that he genuinely thought he was doing nothing immoral. In the same conversation he disclosed that his mum was a regular Cannabis user and that he'd been helping himself to it since secondary school. Rum family, questionable family values and a lad who really didn't know right from wrong. You think these toe rags people are far away from you until something like that happens.

I think now I shall buy some genuine Deco bass guitars (at 40 Euros each though) and a fake rack just to display behind me on my début noodling vid one day. See? There IS a market for them at the right price.

a deco bass/ instrument is an instrument that is new but so sub quality they can only sell them cheap as a pretty wall hanging type thing mate

That's not necessarily true. There used to be a thread on here regarding the 'deco' basses and the vast majority that were bought by Basschatters were perfectly good, playable basses and well worth the money spent and some. I have bought 2 in the past and still use one as a back-up. Obviously some will come with issues but these seem to be generally minor and easily/cheaply fixed. Often, the only thing wrong with them is the D stamps that Thomann have applied!

The issue came when people realised what amazing value these were and now whenever deco basses come up on Thomann they are gone almost as soon as they are put up.

This guy is clearly taking advantage of this and no, I dont agree with it at all as he is misrepresenting what he is selling. Probably not a great deal that can be done about it tho unfortunately.

Each to their own. there is nothing wrong with making the conscious decision to buy a deco bass and taking a chance, but there is a hell of a lot wrong with having that choice removed from you and paying over the odds for a product that you beleive is A1
just emailed thomman politely flagging up this ditch rats existence, its not fair on them as their market is primarily a web based one , and being that it relies to a large part on customer reviews. They do not deserve a person who bought a lemon unwittingly putting up HARLEY BENTON ***** "bought one not long ago , what a peice of S**te.

£15 ? hes making more than that . the deco stuff goes for half its new price approx. then hes adding more on top at a rough guestimation more like £40-£60 per sale. just got off the phone from ebay and have managed to make some progress after arguing the fact that this person is selling under false pretences. so gonna try and get him spanked down.

£15 ? hes making more than that . the deco stuff goes for half its new price approx. then hes adding more on top at a rough guestimation more like £40-£60 per sale. just got off the phone from ebay and have managed to make some progress after arguing the fact that this person is selling under false pretences. so gonna try and get him spanked down.

Here's another view: There are more important things to get worked up about. I don't condone what this guy seems to be doing, but our entire system is based on the premise of buying something and selling it at a profit. The market will decide if it succeeds or not. Caveat Emptor.

Agree that there are more important things, and i doesnt really matter in the grand scheme of things . but have you ever bought a lemon ? wether it be a bass , car etc, i have ! and i remember how sick i felt . market research is a good thing and a must but it only works if you have the relevant info on the product you have to research as in brand , model number etc. I am not trying to come across as "outraged from Milton Keynes" but i have a strong sense of fairness , and that extends to items i sell aswell. and to me this seems very very wrong. not sure if i will achieve anything but i feel its right to at least flag up people like this. Aint much that holds society together nowadays but giving a damn IMHO is one of those things